DoD K-12 Education
Child Development Center, P-385.
Yorktown, Virginia
The new one-story child care center supports 112 children of military personnel stationed at the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station in Yorktown, Virginia. At nearly 13,000 SF, the building includes office space, a commercial kitchen, a secure lobby, activity rooms, and secure outdoor play areas. Every detail of the facility was designed to be child-friendly, attractive, and durable. The center was designed to resemble a residential environment to promote family involvement and create a calming, familiar environment for the children. Car seat cubbies provide room for 12 car seats and are finished in alternating colors of durable laminate that provide a bright focal point in the lobby. Colorful insets are a way-finding tool for the children to follow to their activity rooms. The lower sections of the hall include art-display racks at children’s eye level so they can see their artwork. Each room has specifically defined age-appropriate zones. These areas include imaginative play area, science and math area, blocks and construction area, manipulative and table toys area, arts area, water and sand play, quiet area, and a reading and listening area.
This project provides integrated sustainable design strategies to minimize the facility’s energy consumption, conserve resources, minimize adverse effects to the environment, and improve occupancy quality of life. This facility and all site features are certified LEED Silver.
